Desire and Deep Water

A minute after leaving, you reach your second home; Ponyville Lake. Still frozen over from two, perhaps three weeks of waiting? The bright sun had done nothing to thaw the cold intrusion, as usual, however it glistens off the icy sheet quite nicely, the bright white contrasting with the vivid green grass and hills surrounding it.

After a few moments of waiting, you spy the purple mare herself galloping over from Ponyville, complete with a full saddlebag. Your heart leaps for joy when you see her again, just as it should. When she gets close enough, she greets you with a playful hug. You embrace her in return, giving her a gentle nuzzle.

“Glad to see you got my message!” she says cheerfully, removing her saddlebag and lifting a rather hefty book from it with her magic. She doesn’t show the slightest hint of strain when she lifts it.

“How’s your magic?” you ask out of courtesy. She responds with the playful wink of somepony who’s about to unveil a surprise. With a quick flick through of the book, she glances over a page, nods to herself, and places it carefully on the grass while she stares out to your frozen lake.

“See for yourself.” Twilight says as her horn starts to glow. You only just realise what she’s trying to do.

“Are you sure you can-? Just don’t strain yourself, Twilight, please. Be careful.” Honestly, you don’t know the first thing about magic. That’s the best advice you can think of.

The purple aura changes into a hot orange-red, pouring from her horn and flowing over the ice in front of her. Soon, the whole lake is covered in its warmth. You can hear the rapid cracking and splashing as the ice floes break apart and sink, melting away like ice cubes in a fire. To your ignominy, you also hear a pained grunt from Twilight as she struggles to keep the spell in check. Suddenly, the red-orange magic bursts with a flash. When the light dies down, you gasp; bright, blue glistening water, just as the lake should be, from one end to the other. Not a glimpse of ice in sight.

She did it. It’s finally over.

Twilight stands there, panting, looking at her fine work with a weak smile. Sweat drips from the head she holds with a fore hoof, no doubt feeling sore from her exertion. You hug her in thanks, glad to finally have your second home back to normal.

“Thank you, Twilight, thank you!” she tenderly hugs back, still panting slightly, “Are you okay?”

“Fine… fine…” she says between gasps. She reaches into her saddlebag and retrieves a large towel, spreading it out onto the soft, green grass before lying on it herself, “Lemme just… catch my breath.”

You lie down next to her, grateful for what she had done for you. If she was able to pull off a spell like that, she was no doubt close to a full recovery. If only you could somehow alleviate her strain of magical fatigue.

After several long minutes bathing in the sunlight, she rolls closer to you, until you’re lying face-to-face. You push yourself forward and plant a short, sweet kiss on her lips. Just as you back away, she pushes forward with a kiss of her own. You kiss back. She kisses back. Before you know it, you’re caught up in a playful kissing game, laughing and rolling around playfully with the one mare in the world who could make you feel this great.

You eventually end up over her, pinning her to the ground, assailing her with one fast kiss after another. She throws her hooves up, letting you know she gives up the fight. You win.

“You got me,” she giggles, her face a vibrant red, “I just need someplace to cool down for a bit.” She wipes a bead of sweat from her forehead as indication. The feeling is mutual; being this close to her takes a lot out of you!

You look around for somewhere with ample shade, maybe a nearby tree or rock. There’s nowhere you could call ideal for cooling off, except…

“What about the lake?” you ask, “We’d be the first ponies in weeks to swim in it! And I promise you won‘t get hypothermia this time; the water‘s great in summer!”

You extend a hoof to help her up. Smiling, she accepts it, and you both soon find yourselves wading waist-deep in the lake’s blue watery caress. By Celestia, how you’ve missed this feeling.

Twilight seems perfectly happy in the shallow edge of the lake, keeping her hooves on the ground below the shimmering surface. You carry on wading, until you’re treading water. A little further out, and you reach a nice deep part of the lake. Your favourite spot.

You hear Twilight shout your name from the shallow part. “What are you doing?” she calls out.

“I’ll just be a minute; I’m checking up on some things!” You call back, readying yourself for a dive, “Well, maybe two or three minutes…”

“Hold on a second!” she swims inelegantly over to you, kicking her hooves in the water like a doggie paddle. Unlike you, swimming is certainly not her special talent.

Once she reaches you, she treads water by your side. “You’re going under, aren’t you?” she asks, “Let me come too, I wanna see what it’s like down there!”

You think for a moment, recalling that she can hardly hold her breath for more than a minute, “Do you know a water-breathing spell?”

“No.” She replies, “Well, actually, yes, there is such a thing as a gill-giving spell, but it’s really complicated to use. While a simpler spell, like glimmer-wing, changes the target’s spine and shoulder blades to accommodate wings, the gill-giving spell alters your entire respiration system. So it’s way too complex for me to cast. For now, that is. Sorry.”

That was a mouthful of an answer. So much for a straight yes or no. You take it as a no.

“Then you’ll have to make do with a deep breath, that’s all I can suggest.”

She nods obediently, inhales sharply, and disappears under the water with a quiet splash. One, two, three, four, five seconds later, she resurfaces with a gasp and a splutter.

“That was a practice!” she clarifies, wiping her sopping wet mane out from her eyes.

You chortle; it’s the little things like this that make her so adorable. “If you say so. Stay close to me, Twilight, and don‘t be afraid to swim back up if you need to.”

She concurs. Just as you’re both about to dive, you notice she’s wearing a look of determination, as if she’s coming up against some huge barrier. Wow, is swimming really that much of a challenge for other ponies?

Nevertheless, you take the plunge with her, leaving behind the world above for the deep wonders you’ve been unable to revisit for weeks.

Broken beams of sunlight shine through the lake’s surface, their entwining patterns flashing on the lakebed. The water’s cool, welcoming caress surrounds you as you swim deeper, checking all of the familiar rocks and crevices by the lake bottom.

Tiny fish dart about among the plants and rock formations, seemingly unfazed by the recent rapid-freezing and thawing experience; most of them survive Winter Set-Up and Winter Wrap-Up each year, when the lake is meant to be frozen, so they certainly had no trouble surviving a brief, unscheduled frost. The lake life was odd, to say the least, but it always had a habit of balancing itself out, like most habitats.

You continue to drift through the water, content at finally being able to enjoy your swimming again. A figure of bright purple catches your eye as it swims beside you. Twilight, of course. You’re surprised she’s still down here with you, considering her swimming ability.

Her mane and tail wave to the water's whim, their hairs dancing as if they have a life of their own. She’s smiling at you, despite one or two signs of unease. A stream of bubbles pours from her snout. Somehow, you find her a wonderful thing to watch as she gracefully swims by. She may not have realised it before, but the water suits her.

If there’s one thing you love about being underwater, it’s how the whole world seems to run in slow motion. You take Twilight by the hoof, pulling her towards you. She embraces you, her hooves holding onto you tightly as the two of you drift in your small, blue paradise. You embrace her in return, your bodies pressing snugly into each other, your faces touching by the snout. You can think of no better time.

You hold the back of her head with a hoof as she holds yours. You pull her head forwards, both of your mouths parted, welcoming the kiss. The connection grows deeper, as deep as the depths you both drift in. With locked lips, your tongue makes a dive of its own, pushing tenderly, eagerly into Twilight’s parted mouth. She gives a blissful sigh in response, a sigh that takes the form of bubbles departing from her lips. Your tongues lather each other, that familiar, electric taste of berries - no, the taste of Twilight Sparkle - mix in the water surrounding you both. You and your lover in your own watery world. The perfect moment you’d never want to end.

Sadly, all good things have to; for a split second, Twilight’s grip on you tightens. Her stomach twitches, convulsing under the strain. A sign of desperation. The kiss ends as she pulls out of it, placing a hoof over her mouth, trying to stop the unwanted impulse. The perfect moment broken by the simplest of needs. The desire to breathe.

You gesture your head towards the surface, letting her know it’s alright. She flashes you an apologetic look - she’s as sad to end the fun as you are - before hastily pecking you on the lips and kicking upwards, making a break for the air above. You swim alongside her, despite not needing to surface yourself; you’ve hardly been under for a minute or two.

The lake’s calm waters break when Twilight emerges with a splash, filling her lungs with the cool, crisp lakeside air. You calmly raise from the depths yourself, without so much as causing a ripple. You encouragingly nudge the panting purple pony next to you in congratulations.

“Not that I was keeping track,” you say casually, “but I think we were down there for well over a minute, probably one and a half. I guess that’s a new record for you.”

“I had a good reason to stay down there,” she coos, wiping her damp mane from her seductive, half-lidded eyes. “I couldn’t just turn down a kiss from my handsome stallion, no matter where we are.”

She looks so beautiful with her wet hair. Swimming up to her, you tell her so in a whisper.

“Thanks.” she whispers back, edging closer to you herself. You can tell she isn’t finished from her business under the water. “Now, where were we..?”